1. Field
The subject matter disclosed herein relates to portable electronic devices, and more particularly to methods and apparatuses for use in and/or with one or more portable electronic devices in a wireless operating environment.
2. Information
It is often useful to determine a position of a portable electronic device with reference to some location scheme. For example, some portable electronic devices may include a global positioning system (GPS) and/or other like global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver that is capable of determining a relative geographical position of the portable electronic device based on an applicable multiple signal-based position estimation process. For example, some portable electronic device, e.g., a mobile station, may be capable of estimating on its own or with network support, its relative location based on wireless signals received from wireless signal transmitting devices (e.g. base stations, access points, location beacons, etc.) using certain multiple signal-based position estimation processes.
There maybe situations, however, wherein some of the wireless signals that are received by a portable electronic device may not have traveled along a direct path from the transmitting device to the receiving device, but instead may have been reflected or otherwise directed along multiple paths leading from the transmitting antenna to the receiving antenna. Signals that have traveled along multiple paths may be referred to as multipath signals. Such multipath signals may decrease the effectiveness of certain location determination processes that are based, at least in part, on signal timing measurements and/or related distance determinations (e.g., multipath signals tend to travel a longer distance from a signaling device).
It would be beneficial for a portable electronic device to be able to differentiate between multipath and non-multipath (e.g., direct path) wireless signals that may be received and considered for processing as part of a signal-based location estimation process and/or other communication processes.